Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Eight hit with teen bride sex charges

Eight residents of a polygamous community have been charged with sexoffenses involving marriages to underage girls, including a formerpolice officer who is fighting to overturn previous convictions fortaking a teenager as a plural wife, Arizona authorities announcedMonday. Six of the men surrendered Monday at the Mohave County Sheriff'sOffice in Kingman, Ariz., while a seventh was arrested over theweekend. The eighth man also appeared in court on Monday. Bond was set at $2,500 each for seven defendants; the other's wasset at $7,500. All posted bond Monday and were released. The eight men are from Colorado City, Ariz., which with Hildale,Utah, is home base of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter Day Saints (FLDS), which embraces plural marriage as one of itstenets. Rodney Holm, the former Hildale police officer, is appealingbigamy and sex convictions stemming from his "spiritual" marriage to a16-year-old. As part of his appeal, Holm is asking the Utah SupremeCourt to decriminalize polygamy. A decision is pending. As aregistered sex offender, he cannot serve in law enforcement. Five men, including Holm, were indicted Thursday by a MohaveCounty grand jury. Indictments against the other three were handed upabout a month ago. Most are Class 6 felonies, which are punishable byfour months to two years in prison or probation at the judge'sdiscretion. The charges resulted from a probe by Gary Engels, a specialinvestigator for the Mohave County Attorney's Office. Among otheragencies helping with the investigation were the sheriff's office andthe Arizona Attorney General's Office. The indictments are the latest chapter in the increased scrutinyand legal trouble the FLDS has encountered in the past 18 months. FLDS President Warren Jeffs was indicted June 9 by a Mohave Countygrand jury on charges of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy tocommit sexual conduct with a minor. He is accused of arranging amarriage between a 16-year-old girl and a 28-year-old man who alreadywas married; he is not accused of having sex with the teen. An arrest warrant for Jeffs, who has not been seen in public forat least a year and a half, was issued June 10 by an Arizona districtjudge on those state charges. On June 27, a federal magistrate inFlagstaff issued a warrant for Jeffs' arrest on a chargeof unlawfulflight to avoid arrest. Jeffs also has been named as a defendant in three civil suitsfiled in Utah and was stripped last month, along with other trustees,of power over an FLDS trust fund. The FLDS hews to the early teachings of Mormon founder JosephSmith, among them plural marriage. The Salt Lake City-based Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints left polygamy behind in 1890 as acondition of statehood for Utah and now excommunicates members whopractice it. pmanson@sltrib.com =20 =20 =20 Defendants and the charges against them connected to alleged pluralmarriages: =20 * Rodney Holm, 38, three counts of sexual conduct with a minorbetween Dec. 1, 1998, and March 31, 1999. =20 * Donald Robert Barlow, 48, one count each of sexual conduct with aminor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor in 1999 orearly 2000. =20 * David Romaine Bateman, 48, one count each of sexual conduct witha minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor in 2001or early 2002. =20 * Terry Darger Barlow, 23, one count each of sexual conduct with aminor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. =20 * Randy Barlow, one count each of sexual assault, sexual conductwith a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. =20 * Kelly Fischer, one count each of sexual conduct with a minor andconspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. =20 * Dale Barlow, one count each of sexual conduct with a minor andconspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. =20 * Vergel Bryce Jessop, details unavailable.